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Regret has a past.
Something we should have done, realizing after the fact we didn’t do it, and then it’s too late. We all have regrets.
If I wanted to use a passage of scripture about regret, I would use the Apostle Paul’s written summation of his life …
As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful (2 Timothy 4:6-7, NLT).
Paul lived a life with few regrets. He was so focused on serving the Kingdom that he could write about his life, “I have finished the race!”
How many of us, transitioning from youth to college t0 young married to children to jobs to retirement and to grandchildren, no matter our age, look back on what we have done with regret?
I do.
I get up early in the morning to drive to my office. Every day for the past week at about 5.57 a.m., I’ve turned on the radio to hear the same song – ‘Til You Can’t by Cody Johnson …
You can tell your old man
You’ll do some largemouth fishing another time
You just got too much on your plate to bait and cast a line
You can always put a rain check in his hand
‘Til you can’t
This week is Thanksgiving.
We set aside time to be with family and friends. I hope you have a great day on Thursday. I pray that you will take advantage of your God-given relationships.
You can keep putting off forever with that girl who’s heart you hold
Swearing that you’ll ask someday further down the road
You can always put a diamond on her hand
‘Til you can’t
Many years ago, my mother called me.
She wanted to know if Barbara and I could go with her and my father to Young’s Jersey Dairy (to the uninformed, think well-known gathering place). I was leaving the next morning to drive to New Jersey and hesitated but then said, “Yes, let’s do it.”
So take that phone call from your momma and just talk away
‘Cause you’ll never know how bad you wanna ’til you can’t someday
Don’t wait on tomorrow ’cause tomorrow may not show
Say your sorries, your I-love-yous, ’cause man you never know
My wife and I, along with my mother and father, had a great time.
We stayed later than expected talking about everything. The next day, I drove to New Jersey, and upon arrival, received a phone call that my mother had been killed in a car accident.
If you got a chance, take it, take it while you got a chance
If you got a dream, chase it, ’cause a dream won’t chase you back
If you’re gonna love somebody
Hold ’em as long and as strong and as close as you can
‘Til you can’t
I often think about that phone call, Young’s Jersey Dairy, and the final conversation with my mother. If I had not said “Yes” – it would have been a huge regret.
Be thankful this week. Make plans with family and friends. Enjoy the relationships that God has given you …
‘Til you can’t.